Not to mention that Su Ziyu did not expect that someone would know his secret and even steal his treasure, Xiao Rui and the others arrived at the place where they met up with the Northwest Army as quickly as possible.

But when they arrived, Lu Yanzheng's fleet had not yet arrived.

This place is only fifty miles from the capital, and it is in a secluded location, but the surrounding area is desolate and sparsely populated.

Xiao Rui and the others hid their belongings. The leader of the Northwest Army, Xiao Hu, looked around and said, "His Highness instructed that if we arrive here early, we should inquire about news from the capital."

An Shiqi nodded upon hearing this, "That's fine, but someone must be left to guard this place."

“Gui Qi and Lin Wu are the best at chatting with people, so let’s send them. The rest of us can stay here,” Xiao Hu said immediately, as if he had been expecting this.

An Shiqi had no objections, and Xiao Rui remained silent, agreeing to follow instructions.

Seeing that the two of them didn't speak, Xiao Hu immediately called on Gui Qi and Lin Wu, and asked them to go to the surrounding towns to inquire about information.

In reality, Gui Qi and Lin Wu were elite scouts hidden within the team, and they set off immediately upon receiving the order.

What Xiao Rui and An Shiqi didn't know was that, apart from Xiao Hu, the entire team consisted of elite Northwest Army soldiers handpicked by Zhao Qi.

Some are skilled at gathering information, some have exceptional combat prowess, some have practiced Iron Shirt since childhood and are invulnerable to swords and spears, and some possess extraordinary lightness skills and can lead people to escape at crucial moments.

All of this was arranged by Zhao Qi according to Lu Yanzheng's instructions. The person who led the escape was specifically instructed by Lu Yanzheng to ensure the safe evacuation of the An family brothers no matter what happened.

In addition, Xiao Hu was ordered to stay with the An brothers at all times, but not to give the impression that they were spying on them.

Gui Qi and Lin Wu soon arrived at the nearest town, Julin Town. As the name suggests, this town is famous for its chrysanthemums and has many farmers who can cultivate high-quality chrysanthemums.

However, the once bustling town is now sparsely populated.

Gui Qi pulled a middle-aged man aside and politely asked, "Brother, what happened in this town? Why are there so few people?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" The middle-aged man looked them up and down, then shook his head and sighed. "The imperial court forcibly conscripted soldiers before, and many people in our town ran away. Besides, we heard that the Northwest King is going to attack soon, so everyone is preparing to go to other places to avoid the chaos of war."

Lin Wu and Gui Qi exchanged a glance and smiled amicably, "Then won't the imperial court send anyone to protect you? Besides, the imperial court has so many troops, even if the Northwest King attacks, he might not be able to break through the city, right?"

"Don't you know?" The middle-aged man looked at the two of them in surprise. "The Northwest Army has very powerful gunpowder weapons! Even the Marquis of Jing'an died at the hands of the Northwest Army. I heard that he was gone in the blink of an eye. Even a marquis couldn't avoid it, let alone us ordinary people?"

Gui Qi and Lin Wu looked like they suddenly understood, then thanked the man a few times and continued walking forward.

While observing the area, they also bought a lot of dry food for Xiao Rui and the others along the way. They wandered around the town for about 45 minutes before heading back.

Gui Qi asked Lin Wu, "I never expected the people of the imperial court to be so afraid of us."

Lin Wu chuckled, "They haven't seen our navy yet. Once they do, I bet the imperial court will surrender immediately."

"I think so too. With the emperor's cowardly nature, our prince doesn't even need to lift a finger; he'll ruin the country on his own." Lin Wu rolled his eyes dismissively.

Gui Qi wholeheartedly agreed, "Who can argue with that? If it weren't for the fact that His Highness didn't want to start a major conflict and cause too many deaths and injuries, we would have attacked long ago."

The two chatted all the way and soon returned to Xiao Rui and the others.

Xiao Hu quickly stepped forward to inquire about the situation, and Gui Qi and Lin Wu told them what they had found out, and then distributed the dry rations to everyone.

Xiao Hu, holding the dry rations, said thoughtfully, "The prince is kind-hearted and has always avoided the court's sharp edge. This time, our entire army has been mobilized, so a battle is definitely going to happen. I just don't know how it will end."

"The imperial court should hold a meeting to discuss peace," Xiao Rui suddenly said.

Xiao Hu and the others all looked at him, and Xiao Rui continued, "Now the imperial treasury is empty, and the officials only care about themselves. Even Prime Minister Su has abandoned the court and run away. I think other ministers will follow suit. At that time, the court will have no choice but to negotiate peace."

"I see!" Xiao Hu said "Oh," and then became interested in Xiao Rui. "How did you know all this?"

Xiao Rui twitched the corner of his lips. "I've heard some things about the imperial court before, and these are just my deductions. I don't know if they're accurate."

He knew what his father was like, and he had seen the true colors of the ministers in the court. But now that Lu Yanzheng was with him, he didn't need to think too much about it.

What Xiao Rui didn't know was that the imperial court had already sent peace envoys to Qiongzhou, and they were still on their way.

Meanwhile, Lu Yanzheng's fleet had its first direct confrontation with the imperial navy two days prior.

Unsurprisingly, the imperial navy was no match for the northwestern navy, which completely overwhelmed the imperial navy's defenses across the river in just one hour.

After spending some time redeploying defenses at several key ferry crossings across the river, Lu Yanzheng quickly led his men southward.

Two days later, they arrived at Changning Ferry, a river crossing fifty miles from the capital.

The massive warships were anchored in the middle of the river. Whether they were lucky or not, the river had been shrouded in thick fog for the past two days, making it impossible for people on the shore to see anything on the surface. This gave the Northwest Army the best time to hide.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!